Arteries can have a pathological dilatation called aneurysms. The most common location for an aneurysm is in the aorta just below the take off of the renal arteries. It occurs in approximately 5% of the population above the age of 60 years. About 75% of the aortic aneurysms are asymptomatic and are found unexpectedly. An aortic aneurysm can rupture, which is a life-threatening condition because of extensive blood loss into the abdominal cavity. The risk for rupture increases with size. The rupture is most commonly located at the lower left part of the aneurysm. Approximately 80% of the patients facing a rupture die immediately. Those who reach a hospital have a chance of survival averaging 45%.
The optimal initial treatment for a patient with a ruptured aortic aneurysm would theoretically be to first substitute for the losses of blood and other essential body fluids and optimize basic functions such as the cardiopulmonary and renal capacities. The risk for re-bleeding and immediate death is unfortunately so big that there is no time to finalize such undertakings. There are two different interventions available today. One in which the abdominal cavity is opened and the ruptured part of the aorta is replaced with an artificial graft. This is a major operation and the traditional method.
An alternative treatment is to exclude the aneurysm with an endovascular procedure. An artificial graft is placed within the aneurysmal sac which excludes the aneurysm from the blood flow and pressure and thereby stop further blood loss. The graft is inserted through the femoral arteries in the groins. This intervention is less traumatic but needs x-ray investigations to measure the optimal dimensions of various parts of the graft to be implanted since that vary considerably between individuals. These investigations take time. Furthermore, the proximal control above the bleeding point is achieved through a balloon, which is applied adjacent to the renal arteries. This blockage will influence the renal circulation and eventually also the circulation to visceral organs with potential serious consequences to follow.
Known prostheses for use in such interventions are e.g. disclosed in US2005033416, US 2007156228, US 2007282423, WO 2004/004603, US 2004/0193245, WO 97/19653 and WO 98/41167.
Both the above-discussed types of interventions can only be performed in hospitals of considerable size with extensive services.
Consequently, the current methods of treating aneurysms have disadvantages including too little time to execute an optimal treatment, which often leads to fatal consequences for the patient. For example optimally, there is a need for time of transport of severely sick patients to suitable hospitals, time to substitute and optimize patients before any type of intervention and time for necessary x-ray interventions and measurements to find a suitable endovascular graft.
Furthermore the traditional practice does not follow the proven principles for improved survival in connection to sudden big physical and physiological traumas. These principles can be described in the following two steps: i) damage control with minimal interventions and ii) delayed final repair.
There is therefore a need for a device and method that enables a faster and less traumatic procedure to take care of the immediate life-threatening condition.